Tip advice

]Heading to CN Feb 26.We know that tipping isn't permitted at the resort but could someone please give us an idea on the amounts you tip for the various other services ie Catamaran cruise,shopping excursions,shuttle bus from the airport, etc.Know its kind of subjective but don't want to give too little or way too much! Thanks.

Let me clarify something: The gratuity is part of the all inclusive package. The staff gets paid an additional percentage per week dependent on the number of guests at the resort. So there is no need for Additional Tipping.

For the shuttle to the resort we tip a dollar per bag and we usually give the driver a twenty for us as a couple. The drivers often only get one run per day. We aren't much for off site excursions but someone should be chiming in with how much to tip for those.

We give the baggage handlers at the airport that load our bags into the shuttle $5 for our bags (usually a carry on & 2 bags) & we give the driver to the resort $10 - $20 depending on how much conversation he makes with us plus how many other couples are on the shuttle .... If it's just us, we give $20 .... If there are 3 or 4 other couples, we give $10 normally. Going back to the airport, there is normally a large group so we give $10 at most .... Once, it was just us so we gave $20. We usually tip the ladies that do our couples massage $5 - $10 each depending on how they do.

We usually tip the shuttle drive $10. Sometimes more if he is especially personable. Same for catamaran cruise. Haven't done shopping excursion. Note that tipping isn't required for either.

Also, if you plan to utilize spa services, tips are permitted. I usually give what I would in the US,w which is 15% and maybe a bit more if the service was especially good. Again, however, some don't tip at all.

I haven't done the catamaran cruise so I cannot give advice on that. The bus from and to the airport we usually do $10. The bus to an excursion that is close by we do $5. One excursion we were gone all day and it was to 3 locations, rum tour/fall/black river. We did 10 or 15 for that one. the guys at the aiport that want to take your luggage, we only do $1 or $2

We usually give a couple bucks ($2-$3) to the catamaran and any drivers. The baggage guys at the airport we do the same depending on how many bags we have. I think the norm is like $1 a bag. Sometimes we throw in a couple extra dollars. Hope this helps.

Usually $3.00 to $5.00 to the baggage guys at the airport........ $10.00 to the bus driver to the resort. The ladies at the massage hut, usually $10.00 each. My wife and I both get one at the same time .
$20.00 to the cat cruise crew. But they pretty much let us take over the front of the boat with our crew. We always dress as Pirates and hand out extra eye patches, bandannas, and any other trinkets we have for the others on the cruise. I guess you could say were part of the enertainment. LOL!!

And we leave gifts daily for the ladies that clean the rooms..... School supplies, lotions, perfumes, ect.
If you do this, make sure you leave a note on the bed that it is a gift for them. Other wise they won't take it. And it shows it was given to them.

We tip the shuttle driver $20 each way for the trip from the airport to the resort regardless of the number of couples. We tip the massage therapists $10 each after our couples massage. The baggage guys at the Couples lounge get $5 and the other guy that takes our bags on and off the shuttle gets $5.

But they pretty much let us take over the front of the boat with our crew. We always dress as Pirates and hand out extra eye patches, bandannas, and any other trinkets we have for the others on the cruise. I guess you could say were part of the enertainment. LOL!!

Totally want to be on YOUR cat cruise! Kind of like "Parrotheads Gone Crazy ". Awesome! Any chance you'll be around 26 Feb - 10 March timeframe?

I understand that gratuity is included in the all inclusive package and is therfore not permitted. But I have heard of guests tipping servers/cleaners regardless, and they get better service as a result. How many guests actually do this and is this true? Any feedback would be appreciated...if there are a lot of people leaving tips, I'll feel obligated to do the same.

You really shouldn't tip the staff .... they can lose their jobs for taking tips so you are not doing them a favor. We do not tip & even though it's hard not to when they are making our stay so much nicer, we would never want to cause someone to lose their job over a $5 tip. Plus, if you want to keep Couples like it is with "NO TIPPING" then you need to abide by the rules. You need to make sure to get their names, though, & put your comments about their service on the comment card you will receive before you check out.

NO tipping to Couples employees at the resort... please do not even try, they could get fired if they accept. Tipping is absolutely not permitted... and it makes your vacation experience so much more enjoyable. Everybody is treated the same (like royalty)... nobody gets any better service than anybody else.

It gets crazy if you fly TimAir from Montego Bay. A TimAir porter takes you and your bags from the Couples Lounge...and passes you off to another TimAir porter out front of the airport...who passes you off to another TimAir porter at their terminal locataion and he finally loads your bags onto the plane. 3 guys total might handle your bags before you leave Montego Bay. Then another guy at the Negril Aerodome unloads, then taxi to CN (even though you can walk - literally across the street). I think sometimes they try to have as many people as possible involved so there is more tipping. But I don't care...if I spend a few extra bucks on tips I just smile and say "no problem mon!"

AndyKlaz, Just one question....do you like risking someones job by tipping them? Because that is what you are doing if you tip a Couples Resort employee. You will not get better service by tipping. You simpley put the tipped employee at risk of getting fired.

I understand that gratuity is included in the all inclusive package and is therfore not permitted. But I have heard of guests tipping servers/cleaners regardless, and they get better service as a result. How many guests actually do this and is this true? Any feedback would be appreciated...if there are a lot of people leaving tips, I'll feel obligated to do the same.

No way would we ever put a staff member in that sort of position. They could lose their jobs. We get amazing service and all we give is our kindness and appreciation. They work so hard.

The tips are not allowed for resort employees. The reviews you are reading about tipping to get better service must be on trip advisor. If you tip you could be risking that persons job from what I have read here

Tipping goes on, sometimes discreetly, sometimes not so... However the support companies are NOT part of Couples and should receive appropriate gratuities. This has been discussed in other threads. If the employees are not permitted to accept tips, they should refuse them. If a guest is obnoxious and insists the employee can accept it under gentle protest and plop it in a "tip jar" in the offices for their holiday party or sunshine club.

Twenty bucks each way for shuttle from airport...especiallly if the driver stops for a cold, fresh Red Stripe along the way. Five dollars for bag handlers....unless you have a half dozen bags, or more. Another twenty for the catamaran crew, who do entertain; sort of. If you want to tip otherwise, that's your choice, and relative to what your'e tipping for. So, except for the cash needed to buy your requisite ten pounds of coffee beans, you only need another hundred bucks, total, in cash. Or, you could pay for coffee with debit card and not carry that as cash. Which means you really only 'need' a hundred bucks in cash for your stay at CN. All business with vendors, however, is best done with cash, I think, as well. So, plan for that.
Irie,
TonyS